It’s a little early in the year for such a huge price increase, but Disneyland raised their ticket prices 25% on Sunday. It always comes as a huge shock to all including Cast Members at the amount of the increase and when the increase takes place. Let’s look at all the increases before I go into more detail.
The Base Ticket Increase
I’ve borrowed the below chart from The Points Guy with the basic increase information.
| 1 Day Value Season | $97 | $104 | 7% |
| 1 Day Value w/Park Hopper | $147 | $154 | 5% |
| 1 Day Regular Season | $117 | $129 | 10% |
| 1 Day Regular w/Park Hopper | $167 | $179 | 7% |
| 1 Day Peak Season | $135 | $149 | 10% |
| 1 Day Peak w/Park Hopper | $185 | $199 | 8% |
| 2 Day 1 Park | $210 | $225 | 7% |
| 2 Day w/Park Hopper | $260 | $280 | 8% |
| 3 Day 1 Park | $280 | $300 | 7% |
| 3 Day w/Park Hopper | $330 | $355 | 8% |
| 4 Day 1 Park | $305 | $325 | 7% |
| 4 day w/Park Hopper | $355 | $380 | 7% |
| 5 Day 1 Park | $320 | $340 | 6% |
| 5 Day w/Park Hopper | $370 | $395 | 7% |
This chart is great for the prices, but it’s confusing with the ticketing types for the 1 day tickets. Remember that Disneyland sells their 1 day tickets based on how busy it’s going to be in a day. You have to look at their calendar to figure out what to buy. You can find that here.
Annual Pass Increased Prices
| Annual Pass Type | Existing | New | % Increase |
| Select | $369 | $399 | 8% |
| Deluxe | $729 | $799 | 10% |
| Signature | $999 | $1149 | 15% |
| Signature Plus | $1149 | $1399 | 22% |
| Premier | $1579 | $1949 | 23% |
This is also borrowed from TPG. The AP levels really aren’t entirely a surprise. The Select Pass is only available to Southern California residents and the other passes still have monthly payment plans available.
Max Pass Increase
Max Pass is the popular service that allows you the ability to use Fast Passes on your phone once your ticket has been activated for the day. It also allows for unlimited photo downloads. It went from $10 to $15.
Discounted Tickets
There are still a few places that sell discounted multi day tickets. The best place is AAA. The tickets are still about $5 less per ticket before the increase took effect. You could save upwards of $30-50. I have also confirmed that Costco and Safeway still had discounted tickets as of this morning. I would be careful is you buy a SoCal City Pass as the pass has to be used by a certain date. It comes with a 3 day Park Hopper though. I haven’t confirmed any other online travel agencies, but I’ve heard there may be some discount tickets available.
If you are looking for Military tickets, they still present the best deal and can be purchased at Disneyland or at any military base. If you are a Southern California Resident the 3 day “pre-summer” tickets are a great deal right now!
My Thoughts
As a former Cast Member at Disneyland and Disney Store, we were only told about the price increase 1 day before they actual took effect. It always caught us by surprise. We were the last people to find out. It was frustrating for us and for the guests as we understood actually how they felt, but were powerless to do anything about it.
Why are the tickets increasing so much? The largest argument is the cost of living in Southern California. That’s one reason why I ended up leaving the area. couldn’t afford to rent a room on a Disney salary. Even working full time with 3 roommates it was a stretch. I was lucky to break even. Disneyland is giving it’s Cast members a well deserved raise. They need it!
Secondly, the opening of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge this summer is going to cost a lot! You are talking about the largest addition ever to the park with the most detailing effects ever. It doesn’t come cheap. You are paying for the land, the Cast to staff it and the parking that will have to be rented from Angels Stadium or other places for guest overflow.
There are other new taxes and I’m sure other reasons over the huge price increase, but if you are serious about going, don’t complain much over the price increase. It’s unfortunately just the way life is now. Disneyland is a privilege, not a right. People have talked about boycotting it, but honestly, it does nothing except make other people happy. They welcome a less crowded park as it always seems close to capacity these days.
As far as the Annual Pass goes, Disney actually makes more money off APs than tickets. They aren’t going anywhere and the prices won’t deter them. Cast Members have a love/hate relationship with AP holders. That’s another set of stories for another time though. Until next time, happy travels.